JPH11216214A - Golf cart - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily operate a switch for a stop or a start in automatic travelling when a person sits on either a front seat or the rear one. SOLUTION: A switch box 8 fitted to an almost center part in the cart width direction at the upper side of a backrest part 22 in a front seat 2 is provided with a second travelling switch 8b which is constituted as a push button switch where its operation end faces a rear part. A handrail 24 extending to a rear side rather than the second travelling switch 8b is installed in the upper part of the backrest part 22 and careless contact with the second travelling switch 8b is prevented by the handrail 24.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a golf cart used for transporting goods in a golf course, and more particularly, to a method of stopping and starting during automatic traveling on a predetermined traveling path by operating a switch. Related to golf carts.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Golf carts used for transporting users and articles in a golf course are intended to prevent accidents caused by reckless driving by users and to protect grass on a course. The mainstream is one that automatically travels on a predetermined traveling path (cart path) provided along the course.

[0003] This golf cart has a guide wire sensor composed of a pair of left and right detection coils disposed at the front of the vehicle body, and a sign sensor composed of one detection coil disposed substantially at the center of the front of the vehicle body. And a motor control means for adjusting the output of the driving motor for changing the traveling speed, and a brake control means for adjusting the braking force by the brake, further comprising a steering means for steering the vehicle body. It is provided with. On the other hand, on the cart path, which is a traveling path, an induction wire to which an alternating current is applied is continuously buried, and these are located at positions where traveling conditions need to be changed, such as a change in speed or a stop. A marker magnet for instructing a change is embedded.

[0004] With the above configuration, the automatic running of the golf cart detects voltages induced in a pair of detection coils of the induction wire sensor by the action of a magnetic field formed around the induction wire, and the induced voltages of both detection coils are detected. In addition to operating the steering means to eliminate the deviation, the voltage induced in the detection coil of the sign sensor at the buried position of the sign magnet is detected, and the running conditions according to the detected sign magnet type are realized. It is performed by operating the motor control means and the brake control means as much as possible.

A golf cart that performs the above-mentioned automatic running is automatically stopped in response to detection of a marker magnet (fixed-point marker) installed at a fixed point on the course, such as near a tee ground or near a green. It may be necessary to stop at a point other than the fixed point, so the switch (travel switch) can be operated by the user while riding.
The operation of the travel switch allows the vehicle to be stopped at an appropriate position on the travel path and then started.

[0006]

On the other hand, in recent years,
By using a high-power engine as a prime mover, the number of passengers and the loadable amount of articles are increased, and golf carts with four to six seats are being used.
In this type of golf cart, a front seat and a rear seat are provided at the upper part of the vehicle body in order to enable a large number of people to ride without increasing the vehicle width.

However, in a conventional golf cart for four to six people, the travel switch is arranged near the steering wheel on the premise of operation at the front seat. When all of the users are seated in the rear seats, it is difficult to operate the travel switch when necessary during automatic travel or in an emergency, which is inconvenient.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a switch operation for stopping and starting can be easily performed regardless of whether the user is in the front seat or the rear seat, and the usability is improved. An object is to provide an excellent golf cart.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A golf cart according to the present invention includes front and rear seats arranged in front and rear of a vehicle body, and has a switch for stopping and starting during automatic traveling along a predetermined traveling path. In the golf cart which can be operated, the switch is disposed substantially at the center in the vehicle width direction on the rear side of the front seat, facing the rear seat.

[0010] In the present invention, a travel switch for stop and start operations is provided at the rear center of the front seat facing the rear seat, and the travel switch is provided for a user sitting on the front seat. , And can be easily operated even by a user sitting in the rear seat, and the stop and start operations can be easily performed regardless of the boarding position. Furthermore,
The operability can be further improved by providing the switch in combination with the traveling switch near the steering wheel, which is conventionally installed.

[0011] In addition, a guard member is provided at the rear side of the front seat so as to protrude rearward and upward from the switch to prevent contact with the switch, and the guard member is provided from the rear seat. It is characterized in that it is configured as a handrail that can be gripped.

In the present invention, the guard member provided on the rear side of the front seat so as to protrude upward and rearward, for example, a part of the body or clothes of the user getting on and off the rear seat accidentally comes into contact with the travel switch. This prevents an erroneous stop or start operation due to this contact. In addition, the guard member also serves as a handrail that can be gripped by a user who has occupied the rear seat, thereby realizing the above-described contact prevention without adding a dedicated component.

[0013] The switch is a push button switch whose operation end is directed rearward.

According to the present invention, the operation end of the travel switch is directed rearward to facilitate the operation from the rear seat, and, for example, a fallen object from above comes into contact with the travel switch, and an erroneous stop or start operation is performed. Is prevented. Further, the travel switch is a push button switch, and can be operated only by a forward force, and an erroneous switch operation is performed when a part of a user's body or clothes getting on and off the rear seat comes into contact with the travel switch. To ease that.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings showing the embodiments. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a golf cart according to the present invention.

As shown in the figure, the golf cart includes a front cowl 4a and a front cowl 4a which support a front upper portion and a rear upper portion of a vehicle body 1 supported by a pair of left and right front wheels 10, 10 and rear wheels 11, 11 (only one side is shown).
And a rear cowl 4b, and front and rear seats 2 and 3 are respectively arranged side by side on a step 5 erected between them, and the rear and front cowls 4a are projected obliquely rearward on the rear side. A steering wheel 6 is attached to the upper end of the steering shaft 6a so as to be operable in a sitting posture on the front seat 2.

Between the front cowl 4a and the rear cowl 4b, a vertical frame rising upward from each of them is provided.
A pair of left and right support frames 7a, 7a connected by a substantially horizontal horizontal frame at appropriate height positions are provided. These support frames 7a, 7a support a roof plate 7b covering the upper part of the front seat 2 and the rear seat 3 between the respective horizontal frames, and a transparent resin windshield 7c between the vertical frames on the front cowl 4a side. Is supported so as to be able to be seen through the front, so that a user riding on the step 5 is protected from the weather.

In this golf cart, the rear wheels 11, 11 are driven by an engine (not shown) mounted below the rear cowl 4b, and the front wheels 10, 11 are operated by the operation of a steering mechanism (not shown) mounted below the front cowl 4a. Steer 10 and drive. The steering wheel 6 is used as steering means for the front wheels 10, 10 during manual running.

On the other hand, the steering of the front wheels 10, 10 during automatic traveling along a predetermined traveling path (cart path) set in the course depends on the detection result of the guide line buried in the cart path. This is performed by operating the steering mechanism. Further, the change of the speed during the automatic traveling or the stop at the fixed point set on the traveling path is based on the detection result of the marker magnet installed on the traveling path, the engine for driving the rear wheels 3, 3 and the rear wheel. It is performed by controlling the brakes attached to the third and the third.

A cover plate 4c is attached to the front cowl 4a on the front side of the windshield plate 7c so as to be freely opened and closed and detachable.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the cover plate 4c has been removed. A control box B having a waterproof structure is disposed below the inspection port 4d which is opened thereby, as shown in FIG. The above-mentioned control is performed by the operation of a control unit (not shown) housed in the control box B.

Since the control box B for housing the control unit is provided below the front cowl 4a, the vibration of the engine provided below the rear cowl 4b can be reduced.
Reliable control can be performed without being affected by electromagnetic noise emitted from the engine. It is necessary to periodically perform various kinds of adjustment work on the control unit inside the control box B. This adjustment work can be easily performed through the inspection port 4c which is largely opened by removing the cover plate 4c. .

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the position of the steering wheel 6 in front of the front seat 2 as viewed from the rear side. As shown in the figure, the steering wheel 6 is attached to the upper end of a steering shaft 6a projecting obliquely rearward from a dashboard 60 connected to the upper rear surface of the front cowl 4a. A first travel switch 8a is disposed on a rear surface of a dashboard 60 provided to be inclined to face the front seat 2 at a position a suitable distance away from one side of a protruding position of the steering shaft 6a. I have.

As shown in the figure, the first travel switch 8a is configured as a push button switch that is turned on and off by pressing a switch end. When the travel switch 8a is pressed during traveling, the control box B is turned off. The golf cart is stopped by the operation of the internal control unit, and if a pressing operation is performed during the stop, the golf cart is also started.

On one side of the steering wheel 6,
A forward / reverse switching lever 61 is provided so as to be capable of swinging up and down and projecting sideways. The base of this forward / reverse switching lever 61 is
It is connected to a transmission attached to the engine by a mechanical connecting means such as a wire, and when the forward / reverse switching lever 61 is rocked up and down, the golf cart is switched by the transmission according to this operation. The direction of travel can be changed. This operation is effective only during manual driving.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the dashboard 60 viewed from the opposite side of FIG. On the front side of the dashboard 60 shown in the figure, a traveling mode changeover switch 62 for switching between manual and automatic traveling and a display unit 63 for performing various displays including the traveling mode are provided in parallel.

The running mode changeover switch 62 is a key switch that can be turned on and off by a key K inserted therein, and is also used as an engine start switch (not shown). The display unit 63 includes an automatic and manual display lamp for displaying the current traveling mode in accordance with the switching position of the traveling mode changeover switch 62.
There are provided an indicator lamp indicating whether or not is located on the guide line, an alarm lamp indicating an abnormality of each part, and an oil lamp indicating an insufficient oil of the engine.

The steering wheel 6 is used as a means for steering the front wheels 10, 10 during manual running, and is connected to the steering mechanism of the front wheels 10, 10 only during manual running. It is desirable to release the steering wheel 6 so that the steering wheel 6 cannot be rotated. In the golf cart shown in this embodiment, the connection and the connection are automatically switched in response to the switching operation of the running mode switch 62. It has a clutch.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the configuration of a switching clutch for performing the connection and disconnection operations. In the figure, reference numeral 6b denotes a steering column rotatably supporting the steering shaft 6a. As shown in the figure, the switching clutch is formed inside a housing H having one side fixed to a lower end of the steering column 6b. . A lower portion of the steering shaft 6a is inserted into the housing H at an appropriate length, and a large-diameter portion 41 having a spline formed on an outer periphery thereof is continuously provided at the entry end.

A steering shaft 40 for transmission to a steering mechanism (not shown) is inserted from below into the interior of the housing H and abuts against the lower end of the steering shaft 6a.
A large-diameter portion 42 having the same diameter as the large-diameter portion 41 on the side and having a spline formed on the outer periphery thereof is continuously provided.

On the other hand, a lower portion of the steering column 6b is inserted into the housing H at an appropriate length, and
A small diameter portion 43 having the same diameter as the large diameter portions 41 and 42 and having a spline formed on the outer periphery thereof is provided at the butted end of the small diameter portion 43. Outside the portion 43 and the large diameter portions 41 and 42, a cylindrical slider 44 meshing with the splines on the respective outer circumferences and slidably interposed therebetween is externally fitted.

Inside the housing H, a fork shaft 45, which is parallel to one of the entry positions of the steering shaft 6a and the steering shaft 40 and is slidable in the axial direction, is supported. In the middle of the fork shaft 45, a fork 46 that engages with a concave portion on the outer periphery of the slider 44 is attached, and the slider 44 moves up and down together with the fork 46 in accordance with sliding of the fork shaft 45. When it is in the sliding position indicated by the solid line inside, it meshes in a manner of being bridged between the large diameter portions 41 and 42. At this time, the steering shaft 6a having the large-diameter portion 41 is connected to the steering shaft 40 having the large-diameter portion 42 via the slider 44 so as to be integrally rotatable. At this time, the steering wheel 6 is connected to a steering mechanism, and manual steering by operating the steering wheel 6 is enabled.

When this connection position is realized, a fork 46 which operates together with the slider 44 is provided inside the housing H.
A connection detection switch S which is turned on or off by contacting the lower surface of the switch is mounted. The on / off output of the connection detection switch S indicates whether or not the switching clutch is in the connection position.
That is, it is used to recognize whether manual steering by operating the steering wheel 6 is possible.

On the other hand, when the slider 44 is at the sliding position indicated by the two-dot chain line in the figure, it engages with the large-diameter portion 41 and the small-diameter portion 43 so as to be bridged. At this time, the large diameter portion 41
Is disconnected from the steering shaft 40 and is connected via a slider 44 to a steering column 6b including the small-diameter portion 43. At this time, the steering wheel 6 connected to the upper end of the steering shaft 6a is non-rotatably restrained, and the steering shaft 40 on the steering mechanism side can freely rotate.

The lower portion of the fork shaft 45 is provided with a housing H
And a connecting arm 47 extending to the side opposite to the steering shaft 40 is fixed to this protruding portion. A follower shaft 48, which is parallel to the fork shaft 45 and is slidable in the axial direction, is supported below the housing H on the other side of the fork shaft 45. Below H, it is loosely inserted into an insertion hole provided on the other side of the connection arm 47. A neutral spring having substantially the same strength is provided between the upper and lower surfaces of the connecting arm 47, the outer and lower surfaces of the housing H opposed thereto, and the spring seat ring 48a provided around the lower end of the follower shaft 48. 47a, 47b are interposed, and the connecting arm 47 is provided with these neutral springs 47a, 47b.
To maintain a position where the spring forces are balanced.

A follower ring 48b is provided around the upper portion of the follower shaft 48 which enters the interior of the housing H. The follower shaft 48 is interposed between the lower surface of the follower ring 48b and the inner lower surface of the housing H. The pressing spring 48a is urged upward. Outside the housing H on the same side,
The clutch motor M is fixed. The clutch motor M is configured as a geared motor for appropriately reducing its rotation by a speed reducer G connected to the output side and outputting the same.
An eccentric cam C is fixed to the output shaft 49, and the outer peripheral surface of the eccentric cam C is in contact with the upper surface of the follower ring 48b.

With the above arrangement, when the clutch motor M rotates, the follower shaft 48 is pressed by the eccentric cam C rotating with the rotation and pressed from below by the spring force of the biasing spring 48a. In response to this vertical movement, the connecting arm 47 moves up and down together with the fork shaft 45 while maintaining the balance of the spring forces of the upper and lower neutral springs 47a and 47b. Thus, the connection position and the connection release position are realized.

The running mode changeover switch 62
By driving the clutch motor M in accordance with the switching operation, the connection and disconnection between the steering wheel 6 and the steering mechanism can be automatically performed. The steering of the front wheels 10, 10 at the time of disconnection is performed by driving a steering motor (not shown) attached to the steering mechanism. At this time, the steering wheel 6 is restrained from rotating, so The steering wheel 6 can be used as a handle for supporting the body.

As shown in FIG. 4, an accelerator pedal AP and a brake pedal BP are arranged on the step 5 below the dashboard 60. The accelerator pedal AP is operated to adjust the output of the engine by depressing during manual driving. On the other hand, the brake pedal BP is operated so as to apply a braking force to the rear wheels 11, 11 by depressing during manual driving, and can also perform a braking action by depressing during automatic driving. At the time of braking.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing how the accelerator pedal AP and the brake pedal BP are attached. As shown in the figure, a pivot bracket 51 is fixed to the front wall 50 of the step 5, and a pivot shaft 52 is horizontally mounted on the pivot bracket 51 so as to be rotatable with the axial direction being the vehicle width direction. The accelerator pedal AP has a base connected to the pivot shaft 52 and is attached to a tip end of a pedal lever 53 extending rearward. The pedal lever 53 is urged by a helical spring 54 wound around the pivot 52 to rotate the mounting side of the accelerator pedal AP upward.
However, the pedaling operation is performed to swing the pedal lever 53 around the pivot 52 against the spring force of the return spring 54.

An accelerator sensor 55 using a rotary encoder is attached to one side of the pivot bracket 51, and a small gear 56 fitted on the sensor shaft of the accelerator sensor 55 is attached to the pivot shaft 52.
Meshes with a large gear 57 fitted in the middle of the pivot shaft 52.
, That is, the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal AP is obtained as an output of the accelerator sensor 55. This output is given to the control unit as a signal indicating the operation amount of the accelerator pedal AP, and the output adjustment of the engine during manual running is performed by the operation of the control unit based on the output of the accelerator sensor 55. On the other hand, during automatic traveling, the output of the engine is adjusted without using the output of the accelerator sensor 55, and the operation of the accelerator pedal AP is invalidated. The support portion of the accelerator pedal AP as described above is provided in the front seat 2
Is covered with a cover member (not shown) over the entire width thereof so that the user's foot sitting on the vehicle does not hit the toe.

On the other hand, the brake pedal BP is attached to the lower end of a pedal lever 58 which is suspended obliquely backward from above step 5. An upper portion of a pedal lever 58 (not shown) is swingably supported by a pivot extending in the vehicle width direction. The pedal lever 58 swings around the pivot in response to depression of a brake pedal BP. It has been done. The upper end of the pedal lever 58 is connected to a brake attached to the rear wheels 11, 11 via a brake wire (not shown), and when the brake pedal BP is depressed, the brake lever 58 swings to mechanically connect the brake to the brake. The brake is transmitted and the brake performs a braking operation.

As described above, the accelerator pedal AP and the brake pedal BP are connected to the pedal levers 53,
Since it is attached to the tip of 58, space is secured under these, and the accelerator pedal AP and brake pedal BP
The user seated on the front seat 2 behind the vehicle can be provided with a sufficient foot space, and there is no need to provide a hole in the step 5, and cleaning including washing with water on the step 5 can be easily performed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the front seat 2 and the rear seat 3 provided on the step 5 are bench-shaped seats continuous in the vehicle width direction, and two to three persons can sit on each of them. It is configured to be possible.

Here, the seating portion of the rear seat 3 is provided on the upper surface of the rear cowl 4b which covers the rear side of the vehicle body 1, while the seating portion of the front seat 2 is separated by a suitable length in the vehicle width direction. 5 are supported so as to be bridged over the upper portions of two support legs 20, 20,..., And a space is secured below the seating portion. As a result, it is possible to provide the user seated in the rear seat 3 with a sufficient foot space, to improve the riding comfort, and to use the lower side of the seat portion as a mounting space for various articles. , Which is convenient for the user.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the front seat 2 as viewed from the front, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the same viewed from the rear. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the front seat 2 includes a backrest 22 having both ends and a center in the width direction supported by three vertical frames 21, 21, 21 by the support legs 20, 20,... (See FIG. 1). It is provided above and behind the seat portion 23 for seating supported. The upper portions of the vertical frames 21, 21, 21 are appropriately extended above the backrest 22, and these extended ends are connected by a horizontal frame, so that the handrail 24 can be gripped by a user sitting on the rear seat 3. A switch box 8 is attached to the lower part of the handrail 24 on one side of the central vertical frame 21 so as to be located in the gap between the upper part of the backrest 22 and the lower part.

As shown in FIG. 8, the switch box 8 includes:
Second travel switch 8b configured as a push button switch
However, it is built in with its operation end facing backward, that is, toward the rear seat 3. The second travel switch 8b passes through the inside of the vertical frame 21 on one side of the switch box 8 and is guided to the lower portion of the step 5 along the lower portion of the seat portion 23 and the support leg 20, and further, the lower portion of the step 5 3 is connected to the control section housed in the control box B inside the front cowl 4a by a signal line (not shown) led forward, and is arranged on one side of the steering wheel 6 as shown in FIG. As with the first travel switch 8a, the golf cart can be stopped by performing a pressing operation during traveling, and the golf cart can be started by performing a pressing operation while stopped.

The second traveling switch thus arranged
8b is located at the front center of the user seated on the rear seat 3,
The operation by these users is easy, and the stop and start operations can be performed regardless of the boarding position. In addition, since the vehicle is located substantially at the center in the vehicle width direction, the vehicle is not exposed to rainwater falling inside during traveling in rainy weather. The second travel switch 8b can be operated even by a user sitting on the front seat 2, but is slightly more difficult than the operation from the rear seat 3 side. It is desirable to provide it in conjunction with the travel switch 8a.

As shown in FIG. 8, the switch box 8 containing the second travel switch 8b is arranged on one side of the central vertical frame 21 and below the handrail 24 installed on the upper end thereof. The handrail 24 is positioned so as to protrude rearward and upward from the operation end of the second travel switch 8b exposed on the rear side of the switch box 8. In order to operate the second travel switch 8b with this configuration, it is necessary to consciously insert fingers into the lower part of the handrail 24, and the rear seat
When getting on and off from 5b, part of the user's body or clothing
Inadvertent contact with the travel switch 8b of the handrail 24
Is blocked by Therefore, it is possible to avoid a risk that the golf cart suddenly starts due to an erroneous contact during getting on and off.

The second travel switch 8b is configured as a push button switch with the operation end directed backward, and can be operated only by pushing the operation end forward, so that, for example, an article dropped from above travels. Even if the switch does not come into contact with the switch and an erroneous stop or start operation is performed, and if a part of the user's body or clothes touches the board accidentally when getting on or off the rear seat 5b, the contact can be used to operate the switch. Therefore, the risk of the golf cart suddenly starting while getting on and off can be more effectively avoided in combination with the operation of the handrail 24.

[0050]

As described above in detail, in the golf cart according to the present invention, a switch for stopping and starting operation during automatic running is disposed at the rear center of the front seat facing the rear seat. By operating this switch,
Like the user sitting on the front seat, the user sitting on the rear seat can easily perform the stop and start operations, and the usability is improved.

Further, since a guard member extending in the vehicle width direction is provided at the rear side of the front seat so as to project rearward and upward from the switch, the guard member is provided for the body of a user who gets on and off the rear seat. Or, it functions to prevent a part of the clothes from running and contacting the switch, so that erroneous stop or start operation due to this contact is not performed, safety can be improved, and furthermore, the guard member Is constituted by a handrail gripped from the rear seat, it is possible to prevent contact with the switch without increasing the number of parts.

Further, since the switch for the stop and start operations is a push button switch with the operation end directed backward, the switch can be operated only by conscious pressing forward, and the contact with the falling object from above can be made. The present invention has excellent effects such that the risk of operation due to easy contact by the user getting on and off the rear seat can be reduced, and erroneous stop or starting operation due to this can be prevented beforehand.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a golf cart according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a cover plate at a front portion of a front cowl is removed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the vicinity of an arrangement position of a steering wheel in front of a front seat as viewed from a rear side.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the dashboard viewed from the opposite side of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a switching clutch for performing connection and disconnection operations of the steering wheel.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an attachment mode of an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the front seat as viewed from the front.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the front seat as viewed from the rear.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Body 2 Front seat 3 Rear seat 5 Step 6 Steering wheel 8 Switch box 8a 1st running switch 8b 2nd running switch 10 Front wheel 11 Rear wheel 20 Support leg 21 Vertical frame 22 Backrest 23 Seat 24 Handrail

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A golf cart having a front seat and a rear seat arranged in front and rear of a vehicle body and capable of stopping and starting during automatic traveling along a predetermined traveling path by operating the switch. Is a golf cart characterized by being disposed substantially at the center in the vehicle width direction on the rear side of the front seat, facing the rear seat. 2. The golf cart according to claim 1, further comprising a guard member provided on a rear side of the front seat so as to extend rearward and upward from the switch, and prevents a contact with the switch. 3. The golf cart according to claim 2, wherein the guard member is configured as a handrail that can be gripped from a rear seat. 4. The switch according to claim 1, wherein the switch is a push-button switch whose operation end is directed rearward.
The golf cart according to any one of the above.